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English for THE GAMES

Badminton

Badminton court

Forecourt

Baseline

Net

Shuttle

Serviceline

Sideline

Racket

When athletes come together from around the world to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, they are fulfilling their dreams and competing at the highest level. Billions of people across the globe join in; watching, listening to and reading about the greatest global celebration of sport. To celebrate the London 2012 Games, the British Council is making a wide range of classroom resources available for learners of English worldwide.

What do you know about badminton? have you ever seen it played? Do you like this sport? Why / why not? is badminton a popular sport in your country? Can you name any famous badminton players?

B122 London 2012 English Worksheets Badminton_V3.indd 1 14/02/2012 10:08

1. Vocabulary

a. Write the correct words in the spaces provided.

a. shuttle b. racket c. side line d. baseline

e. badminton court

f. service line g. net h. forecourt

7

8 6

5

4 3

2

1

2. The rules of Badminton

Badminton is a game for two or four people. Players use ‘rackets’ and they have to hit a ‘shuttle’ over a high net.

Badminton is played on a small court, usually indoors and there are lines on the court to show different playing areas.

The shuttle, or shuttlecock, looks a bit like a strange ice-cream cone and it’s made from cork, goatskin and feathers. That doesn’t mean that badminton is a slow game. It’s actually really fast.

To try to win a point, players ‘smash’ the shuttle by jumping up and hitting it really hard over the net. They dive and run around the small court trying to stop the shuttle from hitting the floor and trying to hit it back over the net. It’s exhausting to play and exciting to watch.

Each of the players takes turn to serve the shuttle and the first player or team to get twenty-one points is the winner provided they win by two points or more. Otherwise they play until a player or team scores two more points than their opponent or until one of them reaches 30 points.

a. Match the words in the table with their definitions.

a. court b. dive c. exciting d. exhausting e. net

f. racket g. serve h. shuttle(cock) i. smash

1. a powerful downward hit

2. a rectangular piece of material made from string which is used to separate the two

sides of the court

3. a small light object that the players hit over the net

4. hit the ball to the other player as a way of starting play

5. make a movement down onto the ground

6. making you feel extremely tired

7. making you feel very happy and enthusiastic

8. the area in which the game is played

9. the instrument used by players to hit the shuttlecock

3. Questions & Answers

Badminton? That’s like tennis, only ‘soft’, isn’t it?

Well, it’s like Tennis in some ways, but it’s certainly not ‘soft’! The fastest badminton stroke was more than 330 km/h compared to 250 km/h in tennis! Wow! But tennis players have to be much fitter, don’t they?

Not really. One study showed that although badminton players compete for half the time that tennis players do, they run twice as far and hit nearly twice as many shots. Really? Is it easy to play? It looks easy.

To start to play Badminton is quite easy but to get very good requires a lot of skill, practice and speed. OK. You said it’s like tennis in some ways, what do you mean?

It doesn’t use a ball but a shuttlecock, which is made of goose or duck feathers, cork and leather. The rackets are also very light. So it’s like tennis without a ball then?

Not really, the court is smaller and the net is higher than in tennis. I see, so there are lots of differences. And where does the name come from?

It comes from a place in the UK called ‘Badminton House’. A rich duke was famous for playing the sport there. People called it ‘the Badminton game’ but now we just call it badminton. Ah, so it’s only played by rich people then?

Not at all! There are 130 badminton associations around the world, with more than 14 million members – I’m sure they’re not all rich! No. So which country is the best at Badminton?

China has won eight gold medals since the game first became an Olympic sport in 1992. Anything else?

Yes, the best shuttlecocks are made from only the left wing of a goose. Goodness! Why’s that?

Enough questions for today! You don’t know, do you?

Hmm …

a. Choose the correct answer to each question below.

1. The person asking the questions thinks that badminton is a more physical sport than tennis.

a. True b. False

2. Badminton is faster than tennis. a. True

b. False

3. Badminton games don’t last as long as tennis games. a. True b. False

4. The name Badminton comes from a place where it was played. a. True b. True

5. Originally Badminton was only played by rich people but not any

more. a. True b. False

6. The person answering the questions knows why the best shuttlecocks

are made from only the left wing of a goose. a. True b. False

b. Complete each sentence with a word or expression from the table.

fastest half the time higher smaller twice as far

1. The maximum speed of a badminton stroke is more than 330 km/h. The (…..1…..) badminton stroke is more than 330 km/h.

2. John ran 25 km and Bill ran 50 km. Bill ran (…..2…..) as John.

3. John ran for two hours and Bill ran for four hours. John ran for (…..3…..) that Bill ran.

4. A badminton court measures about 82 square metres and a tennis court measures about 260 square metres. A badminton court is (…..4…..) than a tennis court.

5. A badminton net is 1.5 metres tall and a tennis net is 0.9 metres tall. A badminton net is (…..5…..) than a tennis net.

4. Solution

Exercise 1a

1. b; 2. a; 3. g; 4. h; 5. c; 6. e; 7. f, 8. d

Exercise 2a

1. i; 2. e; 3 h; 4 g; 5. b; 6.d; 7.c; 8. a; 9.f Exercise 3a 1. False; 2. True; 3. True; 4. True; 5. True; 6. False

Exercise 3b 1. fastest; 2. twice as far; 3. half the time; 4. smaller; 5. higher